OTTAWA — The RCMP does not have enough evidence to charge the prime minister’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and it dropped its investigation against him, RCMP Cpl. Lucy Shorey said Tuesday afternoon.

The RCMP had been investigating Wright since June regarding possible charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud after Wright admitted to giving a gift of $90,000 to disgraced Sen. Mike Duffy.

“Upon completion of the investigation, we have concluded that the evidence gathered does not support criminal charges against Mr. Wright,” Shorey said in an e-mail.

Wright said the $90,000 payment was supposed to help Duffy pay back taxpayers for a housing allowance that Duffy had inappropriately claimed.

Wright resigned last May, and Duffy has since been suspended from the Senate pending results of the RCMP probe.

“I believed that my actions were always in the public interest and lawful. The outcome of the RCMP’s detailed and thorough investigation has now upheld my position,” Wright said Tuesday through his lawyer.